Good luck!
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3/20/2021
Charlottesville resident for 7 years. Plenty of parks, the Rivanna River and trail, and a short drive to Shenandoah National Park means plenty of opportunities for enjoying the outdoors. Sadly, that’s where the positives end. Culturally, it’s a miserable place to be. Income inequality is extreme here, and the separation from the wealthy and the rest is evident everywhere. There is a general lack of compassion and empathy for others that has been a dejecting experience for me. People here are genuinely shocked and skeptical if you do something nice for them. The University culture is also a problem, while neighborhoods are affected by frat and sorority house parties, during football season whole neighborhoods are shut down by police closing the roads, can neither come nor go from your own home unless you walk. God help you if you need emergency care or police assistance anywhere in the city on game days. Though the city interior is heavily liberal, step just outside city limits and you will find giant confederate flags and swastikas flying, especially near Ruckersville. Confederacy culture is visible inside city limits too and you may remember the protests regarding the statues, that tension has not dissipated. I have literally been shopping at the downtown mall and was yelled at by a business owner because I said Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Property costs are insane! For a 1500sq ft home expect to pay over 300k, and it will likely need remodeling. Which means a large portion of the city is in abject poverty, and nice neighborhoods are extremely segregated. Nonprofits in the area are more social politicking clubs for the elite rather than genuine mission dedicated organizations, if you depend on them for services or if you work for them, prepare to do massive amounts of sucking up to rich people for pennies when they could give the organization its annual operating budget and likely never feel a strain on their bank accounts, and prepare to have to express soul crushing levels of gratitude in public displays for those folks to continue to donate. The roadways are also very dangerous, and I can not emphasize this enough, people are maimed and killed in car accidents here in Charlottesville daily. For a city of this size you would not expect so much mangled vehicles and road blocks, but you will become accustomed to the site of twisted metal and blood, eventually. All I can say is that if you are brought here to work for the two main employers, NGIC or UVA, good luck to you, you will need it.
A. S. | Charlottesville, VA